Peacekeepers fail to persaude Serbs over Kosovo roadblocks

NATO-led peacekeepers and the EU mission in Kosovo on Saturday failed to persuade ethnic Serbs to remove barricades on roads to sensitive border crossings in the territory's north. The commander of NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo (KFOR) and the head of the EU rule of law mission (EULEX) held talks with mayors of four Serb municipalities in northern Kosovo. But General Erhard Drews and Xavier de Marnhac were unable to achieve a breakthrough. The mayor of Zvecan, Dragisa Milovic, told reporters that the problem could not be resolved at this level and said they would be referring the matter to Serbian President Boris Tadic. Kosovo's 40,000 Serbs, who live mainly in the north and make up the majority in a number of towns there, refuse to recognise the authority of the ethnic Albanian government in Pristina. Saturday's meeting was held after KFOR failed overnight to dismantle three Serb-held roadblocks leading to the Jarinje and Border crossings. "We expect that freedom of movement be re-established for everyone ... people want to have freedom of movement and the rule of law," Marnhac said in a statement issued after the two-hour talks. "Those who erect barricades should dismantle them," he said. Earlier Saturday, Slavisa Ristic, the mayor of Zubin Potok, denounced KFOR's bid to dismantle the barriers. Serbs would let KFOR and the EULEX pass once they had confirmed their neutrality and withdrawn Kosovo customs officials from the two crossings, he told journalists. On Thursday, KFOR troops unleashed volleys of tear gas at Serbs trying to stop them dismantling barricades, leaving dozens needing treatment. The Serbs erected the barricades after Kosovo authorities said in July they wanted to replace ethnic Serb customs officials at the border with ethnic Albanians. Pristina said the Serb customs officers were flouting a ban imposed on imports from Serbia as part of a trade dispute with Belgrade. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008.